But in 2012, Daniels left office and was replaced by Pence, a small government conservative with a dimmer view external influences on education in the state. As a U.S. congressman, Pence voted against the bill that created the federal No Child Left Behind law, calling it intrusive, although it was a major initiative of President George W. Bush’s administration.

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“Those of us who had been supportive were really not engaged,” Redelman said of Common Core. “After Tony’s loss we got focused on things we thought were at much higher risk, like the voucher program and the testing program, things Glenda Ritz campaigned against. We didn’t even focus on Common Core to begin with.”

But Common Core opponents, led by the group Hoosiers Against Common Core, already were laying the groundwork to make it a major legislative issue. The group was founded by Erin Tuttle and Heather Crossin, a pair of Indianapolis mothers who objected to changes in their children’s schoolwork that the schools said were driven by Common Core.

Opponents of the standards were able to connect with the natural sympathy of several key Republican players, who share with Common Core critics’ grave concerns about the influence of the federal government. Besides Pence, opponents ultimately convinced key players like Senate President David Long, R- Fort Wayne; Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn; and the Senate’s chief budget maker, Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, that Indiana had something to lose by sticking with Common Core.

“I don’t think the Common Core discussion is a step backward,” Long said last week. “I think it’s an issue of sovereignty. We’re talking about trying to have the highest standards in the country, but making sure Indiana controls those standards and it isn’t dictated by the federal government. It’s a state’s rights issue. Indiana is going to stay in control of its standards and what’s being taught in its classrooms.”

Proponents of Common Core say it is simply false that the federal government wants to use the standards to control education in Indiana. They note that the standards were created independently and promoted by state governors. While it’s true that the U.S. Department of Education required states to create “college and career ready” standards to receive federal grants or release from some federal rules, Indiana was never specifically required to adopt Common Core. In fact, an agreement between the state and the U.S. Department of Education releasing Indiana from some of the sanctions of NCLB and required college and career ready standards came more than a year after the state had adopted Common Core, not before.

Even so, Kenley, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and serves on the education committee, said the state has learned from the implementation of NCLB that the federal government can wield strong influence over education in the states. In that case, he said, federal officials used the power to deny federal aid to steer states toward its favored policies even when it was clear the law needed changes.

“The point was we had this No Child Left Behind, which was a federal government effort to try to help in education, and it turned out to be a mess,” Kenley said.

“The main issue here is to assert indiana’s ability to be nimble, to be flexible, to move where we want to go on standards and not be tied down to the federal government or some national coalition,” Kenley said. “The assertion that Indiana set its own standards is the assertion of state’s rights.”

Still, Common Core supporters are not entirely disheartened. Indiana’s process of re-evaluating the standards is not terribly different from what other states have done, Redelman said. Many Common Core principles are likely to remain in state standards. The legislature’s move was mostly symbolic, he said.

“If this bill truly withdrew us from Common Core entirely, that wouldn’t have happened,” he said.

Still, Republican leaders argued Indiana is better off debating standards now, when the public is engaged, than in 2010, when few lawmakers, much less the general public, even knew what Common Core was.

“We didn’t have any say in this at all,” Long said. “It was implemented by the Daniels administration and with Tony Bennett without any say front the legislature.”

For Pence, the process being led by Democrat Ritz and the Republican-appointed state board of education will result in better standards than Common Core, he said.

“We are deep into a completely transparent and public process to do that,” Pence said. “We are undergoing maybe an unprecedented effort for any state in the country for developing our standards with broad public input.”

What are the Newark education stories you want to read?

After 22 years of state takeover ended last month, the city school board is re-empowered and gearing up to pick a new superintendent. Candidates are lining up to vie for three board seats that will open next month, even as Mayor Ras Baraka — who as a former principal promised to usher in a new era for the city’s schools — runs for reelection in May.

And, just in time to help make sense of it all, Chalkbeat Newark officially launched this week.

I’m Patrick Wall, Chalkbeat Newark’s founding reporter. I hope to spotlight some of the city’s education movers and shakers, track the growth of Newark’s charter sector and the pressure it’s put on the district’s budget, and show what’s happening inside city classrooms. And that’s just this month.

To do all that, I need your help. At Chalkbeat, our readers are the people who shape the local schools and rely on them. They’re also our sources. As we start in Newark, I’m hoping you’ll not only read our coverage but also help steer it, suggesting stories and making sure we reach a wide audience. Here are three ways you can help:

Sign up for the weekly Newark newsletter. In it, I’ll share my reporting and round up the great coverage by other outlets so that you know everything you need to about Newark schools. The first newsletter goes out this Friday.

Tell me what you want to read. Which power brokers or inspiring students do you want to meet? What arcane policies or tangled politics do you want to understand? Which schools or programs do you want to see up close? Please send your questions, ideas, and tips to pwall@chalkbeat.org.

Come say “hi.” I’m planning to host regular “office hours” throughout the community to meet readers where they are. The first edition will be at the Springfield Branch library during their college fair from 4 to 7 p.m. on Weds., March 14. (Details here.) Say hello and share your story ideas as you pick up college applications and talk to recruiters.

As Chalkbeat Newark gets up and running, I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

These Teach-Off finalists unlock math for students with real-world context

For Houston educators Terrance O’Neil and Tim Livingston, math is all about context.

Too often, they say, students give up on math because word problems feature information or elements students can’t relate with. One recent example that stumped students, Livingston said, was a math problem featuring a person purchasing an $85 thermal to go camping.

“Some of these kids have never been camping,” he said. “And they were confused. One girl asked what a thermal was and why would a person buy one for $85.”

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So they say students, especially those from low-income families, often need context — or information they can relate too — to help them better connect equations to real-world problems.

“A student should be able to relate to the problem,” said Livingston, a math coach in the Spring Independent School District. “The context grants them access.”

Together O’Neil and Livingston represent one of the two teacher teams Chalkbeat readers chose to participate in the first-ever Great American Teach-Off. The live event, which debuts at the SXSW EDU conference March 7, is designed to elevate the craft of teaching and showcase the many decisions that go into just one lesson.

Each team of teachers will demonstrate a mini-lesson on stage in front of a panel of judges and a cheering audience. A lively discussion among judges, coaches, and the teacher teams following the lessons will help attendees “see” teaching with new, clearer eyes.

Before O’Neil and Livingston head to Austin, we caught up with them to discuss the Teach-Off and their teaching philosophy. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What inspired you to go into teaching?

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TIM: I guess I always had a knack for teaching. When I was in the military, I spoke to my wife and said, “I think this is something I want to do.” I love children. They were always drawn to me. And I could always communicate with them in a way they understood. Once I finished up my second enlistment, I went forward. And once I got into it, I saw what I wanted to be true, came true.

TERRANCE: The initial push came from my parents. I grew up in one of the roughest communities in Houston. They continually pushed us to get a good education. It was a nonnegotiable. They believed it was key to escape the community we grew up in. Once I left the community — because of education — I knew I needed to go back to that same community to help. I went back to my former community as a teacher. I fell in love with the kids. I learned quickly how one teacher can change the perspective of a student who might not get any sort of positive reinforcement when he leaves the school.

How would you describe your teaching style or method?

TIM: When I first began teaching, I would give out all the energy. My students would point out how my armpits would sweat. It was high energy, 24/7. But as I matured as an educator, I’ve learned to let it not all come from me, but put it in the mathematical task.

TERRANCE: I try to demonstrate that I’m passionate about the content — math or science. I always try to start with some sort of real-world connections. And I feed into that. I want to see the students excited about what they’re learning. Depending on the demographics of your class, you learn to use different real-world connections. I want them to do the work. To get them do that, I have to demonstrate some passion first.

Why did you want to be part of the Teach-Off?

TERRANCE: Probably because we think we’re better than any everyone else. [Laughs]

TIM: Next question! Honestly, I was intrigued by the vision of what Chalkbeat was trying to do. It got me hook, line, and sinker. Teaching is an art. And to hear that someone understands it’s an art and craft, I said, “This is it.” And my heart is for mathematics.

TERRANCE: We had well over 100 students that lost everything. Everything. The devastation affected us severely. It was dramatic for a while. But our kids are resilient. Some are still displaced. But the district has done an excellent job of serving these students. They’ve done things that I wouldn’t have expected them to do. Some students had to move to outside the district, into other suburbs. And our district sent buses to get them so they wouldn’t have to switch schools. Not to mention, the district and many campuses have developed grant programs to serve those families. Here at McNabb, we’re still helping families with food and clothes. It’s been something amazing to watch.

What do you expect the audience to see at the Teach-Off?

TIM: Everything! All of it! They should expect laughter, energy. I love impromptu. That’s one of my strengths. So the whole notion of the event that something is going to change, that doesn’t make me nervous. That brings me in.

TERRANCE: That genuine love for teaching. Sincerity. That passion. And of course that content. You have to be passionate, and you have to be teaching something.

TIM: They can expect a demonstration of the depths of what it takes to teach mathematics correctly. It’s more than just adding and subtracting. It takes effort to plan to teach and reflect, and that’s what I love about this.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received regarding teaching?

TIM: The issue is never mechanical, it’s adaptive. Meaning, there is no fix that someone can prescribe to me that does not consider my students, the school we’re in, the story that is our classroom. Every problem is adaptive. I can’t go find an answer. I have to collaborate with teachers and students. All those things have to be considered.

TERRANCE: My first superintendent would tell us all the time, “If you are really teaching how you’re supposed to teach and what you’re supposed to teach, it will be seen in the learning in students.” Your success is not what you do as a teacher, but what your students can do after they’ve been with you for a year. That difference there, that determines how effective I am as a teacher.